What P55 MOBO to choose?

[The Sneaker]

Hey I'm looking to buy a Core i7 860 and therefore looking after the right MOBO to fit my needs. I have looked at Asrock P55 Deluxe, ASUS P7P55D Deluxe, MSI P55-GD80 or Gigabyte GA-P55-UD6 but have difficulities choosing which one is the best for me.

So I would like to hear what you would buy? could also be a cheaper P55 MOBO, think that it is a bit confusing?

 

[RussianSensation]

If you want 6 DIMM slots, then pick the Gigabyte board.
If you want the easiest overclocking (i.e., don't care for BIOS or Windows OCing), get the MSI board for OC Genie.
If you don't care for 8x/8x SLI/CF, then the stock P7P55D or say Gigabyte P55-UD3R should fit your needs.

Also, check out the P7P55D EVO. Looks like it has all of the important features of the Deluxe from a quick glance of the specs for $30 less.

 

[AstroGuardian]

Rus: Couldn't agree more

 

[The Sneaker]

How about the Asus deluxe edition? it is priced 30$ less than the MSI GD80 and about 50$ less than the Gigabyte UD6? I have always looked at asus as being something very good? Does this Deluxe perform badly?
Thanks

 

[RussianSensation]

The deluxe is a great board, however, for that much $, you are now competing with top EVGA boards, which have some very innovative features such as dual 8-pin cpu power connectors and extremely fast power circuitry switching.

Regardless, any of these boards will likely max out your i860. You can leave EIST at Auto and then you will be able to have a 22x multiplier for your CPU. So even at 200 base clock, you will more than max out the CPU. Your limiting component will be cooling and cpu voltage scaling.

Consider your motherboard based on features instead. For example, do you need CF/SLI? Do you want 2 Esata ports? 8 SATA II ports?

I would pick Asus, Gigabyte and EVGA over MSI and other brands though. Also, I had a bad experience with my MSI P55-CD53 related to BSOD for using DDR3-1600 memory. I should have my Gigabyte UD3R P55 board by this weekend.

 

[memo]

I'm kind of in the same boat, but I've narrowed it down to the Asus P7P55D. I just can't decide which version. I'm looking at the PRO and EVO most likely since the stock P7P55D doesn't support SLI based on the charts I've seen on some reviews. So essentially, based on Newegg prices, I'm paying 20 bucks more for 1 extra SATA (this doesn't matter much to me at all) and 1 extra Gigabit Lan connection. I don't really understand the benefit of having an extra Gigabit Lan controller. Are there some basic pro's/con's that someone can outline for an extra Lan port?



EDIT: Also, in theory, Pro is equal to EVO which is equal to Deluxe in terms of overclocking ability? There isn't "better" circuitry(is this the right word?) in the Deluxe that would make it OC better is there?

 

[RussianSensation]

The deluxe version has the 16+2 (or 24 hybrid power phases), while the Evo and Pro versions 'only' have 12+2 (or 16 hybrid power phases).

Honestly, I think unless you are using watercooling or LN2, this is just marketing.

Gigabyte EX58-UD3R only had 8 power phase design:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...%20Intel%20Motherboard

and that was one of the best boards for OCing.

Eventually it's a case of diminishing returns. Sure you can also get DDR3-2000-2200+ ram sticks but unless you are setting world records, look at the features you want. Otherwise, next thing you know you just went form a good $150 board to a $230 board and that $80 could have taken you from a 4890 to a 5850!

 

[Interitus]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
I would pick Asus, Gigabyte and EVGA over MSI and other brands though. Also, I had a bad experience with my MSI P55-CD53 related to BSOD for using DDR3-1600 memory. I should have my Gigabyte UD3R P55 board by this weekend.

That's a bummer about the MSI board. I was considering the GD-65 here.

To add to the thread, I came to the GD-65 and EVO/Pro/Deluxe based on a few things:

1) The Asus boards have a less cluttered CPU area, which I thought would benefit my TRUE and get a little airflow going around the socket that might be better than an enormous heatsink that blocks all the airflow.

2) The MSI board wins on SATA ports (more for their location, I really despise the fact that some of the ports on the Asus are at the bottom and don't face off the side of the board. Again I REALLY hate this about the Asus boards. If they would have put all the ports facing out to the side, these boards would win me over hands down) I need 6 SATA ports: 1 for OS drive, 3 for my storage TB+ sized drives, and 2 for my opticals. Having to route cables all the way to the bottom of the board in a P182 angers me, lol.

3) Asus has the PCI-E bridge chip on the Premium version. If I absolutely cannot wait for SATA 6Gb/s to show up, this might be a feature swaying me in the direction of the Asus Premium.

All that aside, the Pro and EVO Asus boards are great if you don't need the PCI-E bridge chip for SATA 6Gb/s, and lots cheaper as stated earlier.

I will probably wind up trying out the MSI GD-65 due to the 6 SATA ports facing off the board. I think the price difference just to buy the Premium and get the SATA 6Gb/s isn't really worth it.

Crossing my fingers I don't experience the 8GB of RAM issues a lot of people seem to be having with the MSI boards and some of the Asus boards too.

 

[RussianSensation]

Interitus, why not get the EVGA P55 FTW board, if you are already looking at the Asus Deluxe model:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...6&Tpk=evga%20p55%20ftw

There is also EVGA P55 SLI for $200.

It has a similar implementation of DrMos fast switching power circuitry of the MSI boards, but also the SATA connectors how you want them along with backwards compatible 775 heatsink holes.

 

[Interitus]

I was trying to avoid spending the cash on the FTW board (you're not helping! ) and does the P55 SLI have eSATA? I think I skipped over it because of that. Maybe I'm confusing it with the LE..

Hell the Asus board lineup alone is enough to give me a headache lol

-edit-

Yeah I must have confused the SLI with the LE. Looks like it has eSATAx2 which is good. I do like the EVGA look and layout, and it'd be nice to have SLI. I probably would stick to 285's or similar if I SLI at all, so I'm not worried about the bandwidth of dual x8 vs X58's SLI capabilities.

Thanks for mentioning the board, definitely looked over it the first time. As long as the TRUE fits, it looks like a winner too.

 

[Beanie46]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
If you want 6 DIMM slots, then pick the Gigabyte board.

But those 6 DIMM slots are sort of bogus, really. The "extra" two DIMM slots are useless because the configuration needed to actually use the six DIMM slots makes it "pointless."

To use all six slots, the blue slots can only be populated with single sided DIMMs. The board won't even boot with all six memory slots populated with two sided DIMMs. This really screws up your memory module choices.

The only way these slots would be of use is if you have four extra DDR3 single sided DIMMs lying around, like from two years ago.

Putting 8GB of RAM in the board is easy. But if you're thinking of putting 12GB of memory on this board like on an X58 board, think again, as six 2GB double sided DIMM won't work in it.

 

[RussianSensation]

Beanie, awesome update. I wasn't aware of this limitation.

"A few board layers, for starters. The Deluxe's PCB stacks eight layers and an en vogue two ounces of copper, while the standard model must make do with four floors and one ounce of the conductive stuff." link: http://www.techreport.com/articles.x/17598

 

[ExcaliburMM]

Can I get some opinions on the Foxconn P55A-S?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813186174

It looks nice, seems solid, and is very cheap for a P55. I'm looking for an alternative to the DFI LP DK P55 which I know are going to be much more expensive.

Using a single GPU solution although I will be trying to get an i7 750 as high as possible. Heavy air cooler.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: ExcaliburMM
Can I get some opinions on the Foxconn P55A-S?

I wouldn't do it.

- Only 4 phase power design
- Awkward power circuitry cooling will likely limit your ability to mount larger cpu coolers.
- DDR3 support up to 1333? That won't let you max out your Core i5. I believe the lowest multiplier on P55 boards is 1:8 = 133 base clock : DDR3-1066. Therefore 200 base clock = DDR3 1600.
- How many options will be available in the BIOS of this board? No idea, but we know the Gigabyte board's bios is extensive (see 2nd link below).

I'd rather get the UD2 for $5 more. You get a more proven brand, likely superior overclocking/memory support, a Firewire Port, and an extra PCIe port should you ever want to run more displays. You also get the ability to flash your BIOS in Windows, constant BIOS updates since a lot more users will have this Gigabyte board (and provide feedback to the firm), 2 oz copper insulation for improved signaling and 3 year warranty (not sure what Foxconn's is).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/..._-13-128-405-_-Product

Check out Anandtech's first take at the Gigabyte P55-UD2 mobo:
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=639

 

[ExcaliburMM]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation

Originally posted by: ExcaliburMM
Can I get some opinions on the Foxconn P55A-S?

I wouldn't do it.

- Only 4 phase power design
- Awkward power circuitry cooling will likely limit your ability to mount larger cpu coolers.
- DDR3 support up to 1333? That won't let you max out your Core i5. I believe the lowest multiplier on P55 boards is 1:8 = 133 base clock : DDR3-1066. Therefore 200 base clock = DDR3 1600.
- How many options will be available in the BIOS of this board? No idea, but we know the Gigabyte board's bios is extensive (see 2nd link below).

I'd rather get the UD2 for $5 more. You get a more proven brand, likely superior overclocking/memory support, a Firewire Port, and an extra PCIe port should you ever want to run more displays. You also get the ability to flash your BIOS in Windows, constant BIOS updates since a lot more users will have this Gigabyte board (and provide feedback to the firm), 2 oz copper insulation for improved signaling and 3 year warranty (not sure what Foxconn's is).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/..._-13-128-405-_-Product

Check out Anandtech's first take at the Gigabyte P55-UD2 mobo:
http://www.anandtech.com/weblog/showpost.aspx?i=639

Thanks for the info but I am strictly ATX-or-gtfo. I guess I'll wait for DFI to get their shit together and pay the piper.

 

[The Sneaker]

"RussianSensation" - There has not been releashed any EVGA P55 boards in my country yet, so these I cannot get, but thanks for the suggestion. I've looked on the boards over this weekend and I'm very keen on the Asus deluxe, so besides the EVGA would this be a good buy ? Also saw that the Asus Premium has SATA 3 as the only one but cost about 60$ more and It looks like the only diff. Is it worth it? Can't I just get a PCI-card in the future perhabs, if I want to run SATA 3?

One more question. I have read a lot about the diff. P55 boards not supporting memory of 1600MHz, I just looked at the "certified" memory from Corsair for the i7 8xx series on 1600 MHz, will that really not work even when the MOBO manufactures says that their boards support 1600MHz ?

-Thanks

 

[yacoub]

Originally posted by: RussianSensation
I'd rather get the UD2 for $5 more. You get a more proven brand, likely superior overclocking/memory support, a Firewire Port, and an extra PCIe port should you ever want to run more displays.

I'd love to agree with you, but you failed to list anything actually important there.
"a more proven brand" = buying a name. all the brands currently producing P55 boards in quantity are generally quite well known and reliable, and have been around for years. iirc, Foxconn is one of the LARGEST fabs of motherboards in Taiwan, and actually produces the boards for other manufacturers who then rebrand them.
"likely superior oc/mem suppt" = a potential, but not guaranteed
"Firewire Port" = useless and irrelevant for most people
"extra PCIe port" = again useless and irrelevant for most people who run one videocard and at most 2 displays, which can be handled just fine by one even remotely modern GPU.

Just sayin'.

I do agree the Gigabyte BIOS is most likely more flexible.

 

[RussianSensation]

Originally posted by: yacoub

I'd love to agree with you, but you failed to list anything actually important there.
"a more proven brand" = because they make the higher quality boards.

Asus and Gigabyte have proven in the P35 and P45 chipset war that neither Foxconn nor MSI can touch them.

Gigabyte's motherboard business represents 60-70 percent of GIGABYTE?s overall businesses, which makes GIGABYTE the only company that concentrates on motherboards. For 2009, Gigabyte has set the goal of taking 30 ? 35 percent of the global DIY motherboard market share. Where is MSI and Foxconn? Asus and Gigabyte are by far in the lead.

Also, this is the barebones Foxconn board, not their BloodRage series. You can't possibly think that Foxconn's cheapest board will be able to touch a 2oz of copper Gigabyte board that has more powerphases, a proven bios/by far superior BIOS updates and a proven ability to hit 200 Base Clock? Not to mention DDR3-2200 support out of the box compared to 1600 for the Foxconn board.

The only budget boards that are worth looking at are Asrock and Biostar. I can't recall Foxconn ever making a good $100 overclocking intel board.